Amazon appears close to launching its long-rumored Android app store, according to the German Web site Android News. If reports are accurate, Amazon is starting an app exclusivity and price war much like the e-book price fight it engaged in (and lost) with book publishers last year.

Android News uncovered Amazon's hidden app store by simply entering http://www.amazon.com/apps into a Web browser. The URL now redirects to Amazon's home page, but before it was re-shrouded, Android News grabbed screenshots and compared Amazon's prices to those of Google's Android Marketplace.

Image courtesy Androidnews.de

The results: Not only are 14 of the 46 apps cheaper than in Google's store (Google only has 4 lower-priced options), Amazon also boasts 4 exclusive apps, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Force Recon. In case you're unfamiliar with the Call of Duty franchise, this is a big score for Amazon; the franchise is a huge money-maker--the latest console offering, Call of Duty: Black Ops, pulled in $360 million in North American and UK sales during its first 24 hours.